From California Indie-pop duo Best Coast comes  the mini album “Fade Away,” which is their first original release since 2012’s “The Only Place.” Comprised of singer/guitarist Bethany Consentino and lead guitarist Bobb Bruno backed by session musicians, the band premiered tracks such as “I Wanna Know” and “Fear of My Identity” on the road. After the release of “The Only Place” the band took a more sophisticated approach to recording and audio quality, a distinction from the hazy sound of 2010’s “Crazy for You.”

The lyrics take a different stance from the band’s previous releases, featuring a more mature and existential view on love, aging, and anxiety. Despite the colorful, bright artwork, the title of the record “Fade Away” speaks volumes. It shows the transition in Consentino’s more pessimistic writing style compared to “The Only Place,” which is primarily about her love for her home state of California, to “Crazy for You,” which took a romantic outlook on her life at the moment.

However, despite these transitions, the band still takes a very similar musical approach in terms of layered guitars, minimal basslines, downbeat drums, exciting tempo changes and Consentino’s voice resonating above the music.

Though the production value has been a critical point, the band clearly makes use of the simple chord structures that categorized their early work and transforms it into a more fresh sound with every release.

Overall, this mini-album is a great, focused collection of music that shows the band still has a lot of possibilities on the horizon. After opening for bands like Passion Pit and The Pixies, Best Coast has yet to fully achieve their potential.